So many photos you see are in fields of flowers or big city streets. Pretty scenery is the norm in photography right now. It always has been and always will be. As a photographer, I have shot many, many sessions in easily accessible parks and gardens. In front of beds of tulips and roses. And as a consumer, I know that people love to feel pretty in their surroundings if a photo is going to be hanging on their wall for all to see. I get it. I do too!
 

Right now, the sunflowers are blooming in Kansas, and people are going CRAZY for them. Yellow and bold and beautiful. Everyone wants portraits in the sunflowers.
 

But background do not always have to be pretty to make a great portrait of your family.
 

For me, though, pretty gets redundant. Every so often, I will have a client who wants something completely different. Something harder, grungier, dirtier. It's a different look and feel, and I love that diversity is available in my work. I also am happy that they trust me to make them look beautiful in a place that might not be. That shows me that they trust my skill and opinions on what looks good in the end.
 

I have shot under bridges, in dilapidated neighborhoods, in alleyways, and on abandoned farm equipment. None were particularly pretty, and they turned out to be some of my favorites shots.

What do you like in your photos?